FACT CHECK: A look at the President's speech on the oil disaster

Posted: Tue 9:01 PM, Jun 15, 2010&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Tue 10:40 PM, Jun 15, 2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - In assuring Americans on Tuesday that BP won'tcontrol the compensation fund for Gulf oil spill recovery,President Barack Obama failed to mention that the government won'tcontrol it, either. That means it's anyone's guess whether the government can, infact, make BP pay all costs related to the spill. Obama aimed high in his prime-time Oval Office address - perhapshigher than the facts support and history teaches - as he vowed torestore livelihoods and nature from the still-unfolding calamity inthe Gulf of Mexico. A look at some of his statements and how they compare with thosefacts: OBAMA: "We will make BP pay for the damage their company hascaused and we will do whatever's necessary to help the Gulf Coastand its people recover from this tragedy. ... Tomorrow, I will meetwith the chairman of BP and inform him that he is to set asidewhatever resources are required to compensate the workers andbusiness owners who have been harmed as a result of his company'srecklessness. And this fund will not be controlled by BP. In orderto ensure that all legitimate claims are paid out in a fair andtimely manner, the account must and will be administered by anindependent, third party." THE FACTS: An independent arbiter is no more bound to thegovernment's wishes than an oil company's. In that sense, there isno certainty BP will be forced to make the Gulf economy whole againor that taxpayers are completely off the hook for any of the myriadcosts associated with the spill or cleanup. The government cancertainly press for that, using legislative and legal tools. Butthere are no guarantees. It took 20 years to sort through liability after the ExxonValdez oil spill in Alaska, and in the end, punitive damages wereslashed by the courts to about $500 million from $2.5 billion. Manypeople who had lost their livelihoods in the spill died withoutseeing a check. OBAMA: "Already, I have issued a six-month moratorium ondeepwater drilling. I know this creates difficulty for the peoplewho work on these rigs, but for the sake of their safety and forthe sake of the entire region, we need to know the facts before weallow deepwater drilling to continue." THE FACTS: Obama issued a six-month moratorium on new permitsfor deepwater drilling but production continues from existingdeepwater wells. OBAMA: "In the coming days and weeks, these efforts shouldcapture up to 90 percent of the oil leaking out of the well." THE FACTS: BP and the administration contend that if all goes asplanned, they should be able to contain nearly 90 percent of theworst-case oil flow. But that's a big "if." So far, little hasgone as planned in the various remedies attempted to shut off orcontain the flow. Possibly as many as 60,000 barrels a day areescaping. BP would need to nearly triple its recovery rate to reachthe target. --- Associated Press writers Matthew Daly, H. Josef Hebert and JimDrinkard in Washington and Carol Druga in Atlanta contributed tothis report.

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